National Park "Litchfield", covering an area of 1,500 square kilometers, is located near the town of Batchelor, 100 km south-west of Darwin. Each year the park is visited by more than 260 thousand people.
According to the beliefs inhabiting these places of Aboriginal tribes Poppy Poppy Marranunggu, Verrati Warai and wonderful landscape, plants and animals of the park were created by the souls of their ancestors who live here today.
Taken under protection in 1986, the national park is named after Frederick Henry Litchfield, one of the first researchers of Australia's Northern Territory mid-19th century . He was a member of the first European expedition is sent to the northern tip of the mainland to establish a settlement on the cliff at the mouth of the river Iskeyp Adelaide River . All previous attempts to establish a permanent settlement failed . The expedition got to the place, now known as the National Park "Litchfield" in September 1865 . The discovery is of copper and tin led to the creation of several small mining companies, and later - in 1870 - began to develop agriculture . Mining was terminated only in 1951 after severe flooding inundated most of the mines . Today Bamboo Bay remains of an old tin mine as a reminder of the difficult living conditions of the pioneers of these places . In 1948, in the northwestern part of the park began logging - cypress and pine Lichhardta, and in 1949 on the eastern border of the park have found uranium deposits - there was the first in Australia fully operational Rum Jungle uranium mine, which existed until 1971 .
Today the National Park "Litchfield" - a large reserve, protecting wildlife northern Australia. Central sandy plateau covered with rich forests dominated by different types of eucalyptus trees and plants with unusual names - Banks, Greville and terminals. Islets relic lush monsoon forests grow in the deep narrow gorges created over thousands of years the force of water falling from the cliffs. Here you can see elegant lilies and orchids growing among pandanov and sandalwood.
Among the wild animals living in the park - mountain kangaroos, wallabies, sugar flying squirrels, opossums, brush-tailed possums, marsupial mice, black and red flying fox dingo. In the caves near the waterfall Tolmer Falls rare live ordinary orange leaf-nosed bat.
"Litchfield" - it is also the habitat of hundreds of species of birds. Black vultures and other birds of prey - patrons of these places during the dry season. Yellow and fig Orioles, Pacific cuckoo shining drongo, eastern shirokorot and rainbow bee-eater inhabit secluded place near the waterfalls.
Popular with tourists mesta- Wangi Falls, Tolmer, Florence Falls and Bewley Rockhal - chosen by birds and reptiles. Medososy, fig Orioles and Torres Strait pigeons are divided fruits and berries such nocturnal mammals like martens northern speckled, brown bandicoot and opossum brush-tailed possums. In the river River Finniss huge saltwater crocodiles inhabit. Another popular place with visitors - termites. These wedge-shaped mounds by magnetic termite, built strictly on the north-south line.
Most of the attractions of the park are connected by an asphalt road and is easily accessible.